When talking about my travels, I often bring up how Amsterdam is the most surprising place that I have been. Why? Well, it’s one of the few places that blew my preconceptions of it right out of the water. Back a few years ago when we, me and a few friends, were planning our great European adventure, I was hesitant to add Amsterdam to the itinerary. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t know all that much about the city. What I had heard was that it was a party city filled with legal drugs and prostitution and frat boys. (Do they have those in Europe?) But my friends wanted to go and I will pretty much go anywhere. What I didn’t expect was to be totally blown away by the Dutch city.

Have you ever wanted to journey deep into the earth? Or gaze into the actual Devil’s Hole yourself? Then make a trip to The Lost Sea Adventure in Sweetwater, Tennessee, an extensive cave that you can take a guided tour through. Just be warned, this tour isn’t for the faint of heart, or the out of shape. Why you ask? Well, you begin by going down this big yellow tube:

It might look pretty intimidating going down, but it’s even more so coming back up. So, make sure you wear comfortable footwear. You descend into the earth via a metal yellow tube with your fellow group members and you might be thinking, this is impressive and all, but where’s the cave? Well, once you step out of said tube, the room opens up into the sprawling cave beyond. Strategically placed lights illuminate the natural wonders, stalactites, stalagmites, great rocky cracks and holes, and waterfalls and natural pools, a moonshine still. Well, that last one isn’t natural. But the caves were used as a hidden bar during prohibition and some of the famous Tennessee moonshine was made deep in it’s bowels.

Exploring what our backyard has to offer!

Looking for a challenging and fun experience? Then The Great Escape Room may just be up your alley. Part of a growing sensation that’s been sweeping across the nation, (Perhaps even further?) escape rooms are simple in concept, but not in practice. Each room is typically centered around a theme, this particular location had a Library and a Game room, and each has a story to go along with it. And then, well, you have to escape it by finding clues and solving puzzles under a certain time limit. Now, it doesn’t seem like it would be a whole lot of fun, but it really is, which is probably why they’ve grown in popularity recently.

It’s been a while! I’ve just been trying to figure some things out. In the meantime, why don’t we take a virtual tour of Versailles?

About 45 minutes outside of Paris lies probably one of the most famous palaces in the world. Why is this? What draws people to the Palace of Versailles? Is it the romance of the past? The perfectly preserved french architecture and gardens? The grandeur? It could be all of the above. Whatever the case, I had to go see for myself what makes this place so spectacular.

Local Eats: Greek City Cafe

Celebrating unique local restaurants!

While Devil’s Mistress #2 is away in Greece eating the delicious food, I am stuck behind, much to my dismay, in the old United States. But, to help tide me over we at least have some good international fare in the neighborhood. And one of those places is the Greek City Cafe in Spring Hill, Florida. It’s not a big place, nor a particularly fancy place, but it will help satisfy the Greek food cravings you have. (Though it is not, unfortunately, a replacement for the real thing.)

Local Eats: Taco Bus

Celebrating unique local restaurants!

When I first had Taco Bus I was told it didn’t really count, that it didn’t measure up to the real thing. Which is saying something because my first time wasn’t all too bad. I had been at a friends wedding where they catered, pulled up in a short, bright yellow bus. Yes, they take their name seriously! And that was two years ago!

So after picking up another friend from the airport, I finally got to experience the REAL deal after hearing so much about it. And I wasn’t disappointed. After I pulled in, I was pleased to see not one, but two buses making up a charming little courtyard. Most of the seating is outside, but they did also have an indoor dining room if the weather is not so agreeable, and let’s face it, in Florida thunderstorms are a daily summer afternoon occurrence. Luckily for us, the sun was just peeking out from behind the remnants of one such storm and we got to enjoy the humid heat while Latino music filled the air.

Local Eats: Kazu’s

Celebrating unique local restaurants!

Looking for the best Sushi in the Hudson area? Then check out Kazu’s! A small restaurant tucked away in a rather barren strip mall (don’t let that scare you away!) Kazu’s has a rather large following in the area, and for good reason. According to their website, the restaurant was opened in 2003 by Kazunobu Miyazato and his wife. With 30 years of being a sushi chef under his belt, it definitely shows, yum! And the prices are very reasonable too. So if you are ever in the area and have a hankering for delicious sushi, check out Kazu’s! Your stomach, and your wallet, will thank you!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes there is more to a photo than what you see. This is Behind The Photo where we explore the story behind the shot, from why we took the picture to interesting history and tidbits of the subject.

Brooklyn Bridge Hike

I know, not the best picture, but bear with me, there is a story here! It was several years ago during my first visit to NYC. I was young and ready to go! And go I did! After getting off my flight and dropping my things off at my friend’s place where I was staying in Brooklyn, we walked all around lower Manhattan. Tired and exhausted, we thought it would be a good idea to hike across the entirety of the Brooklyn Bridge. How far/ hard could it be?? We learned pretty quickly what we had decided to undertake, but we were determined! Also, the view! Unfortunately I hadn’t thought to bring a tripod with me and balancing my camera precariously on the edge as cars zoomed by underneath didn’t seem like a great idea. So, I am left with this blurry memento of the time I thought that hiking across the Brooklyn Bridge at night was a good idea.